Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Heroes

As Yuya finished recounting everything that happened in the early hours of the morning, everyone finally understood why Manjoume was nowhere to be seen.

He had sneaked into Misawa's dorm room in the middle of the night while Misawa was away and committed theft. Not only that, but he went all the way to the academy's dock lighthouse and threw the stolen deck straight into the sea! At first hearing, it was enough to make everyone feel furious and outraged.

However, after learning that Yuya had already taught him a lesson through a duel and that Manjoume, having lost, had packed his things and left the academy on his own, much of that anger subsided.

As for Misawa's thoughts on the matter? He didn't forgive Manjoume, but neither was he particularly enraged—he was just too much of a good guy by nature.

With that matter settled, the conversation returned to the "Dorm Exchange Duel." Due to what happened with Manjoume, Professor Chronos decided to let Misawa, an honors student from the Ra Yellow dorm, move up directly to the Obelisk Blue boys' dorm without needing to duel.

If this opportunity had been offered to someone like Sho Marufuji, he would have accepted it with a thousand-percent enthusiasm. But Misawa? He shook his head and refused.

Everyone was confused—why would he turn down such a great chance? Then Misawa turned his gaze toward Judai.

"I will enter Obelisk Blue. But before that, I must defeat Judai! Only by beating him will I be worthy of joining Obelisk Blue!"

Back on the entrance exam day, Misawa had met Judai. It was then that he learned Judai was considered the No. 1 among the incoming students this year (though that title was self-proclaimed).

Because of that, Misawa set his immediate goal: defeat Judai, the academy's so-called top new student, and then earn his way into Obelisk Blue through victory.

Everyone supported this decision, as it perfectly matched Misawa's personality and values.

Seeing how firm Misawa was in his resolve, Professor Chronos gave up on the promotion duel for now, though he did grant Misawa the honorary title of "Obelisk Blue's Top Candidate."

——— Scene Transition ———

A week and a half later, on this very day—

"Hey, Sho, why are you dueling someone at the snack shop of all places?"

Pushing through the crowd and reaching the edge of the duel area, Judai looked puzzled as he saw Sho in a duel with a student from Ra Yellow.

"Look at the poster over there."

Yuya, who had been chatting with Aunt Tome, immediately pointed it out to Judai upon hearing his question.

"This guy… oh!"

Tri-color starfish-shaped hair: mostly black with red streaks and blond bangs. A lightning-shaped tuft on his forehead. Those light crimson eyes. And that sharp, dark blue suit that resembled a Western-style outfit—

Wasn't this his idol, the one known as the King of Games himself—Mr. Yugi Mutou!

"Uncle Ga—uh, I mean, Mr. Yugi's deck is going to be on display here at Duel Academy tomorrow. Sho is dueling that Ra Yellow student named Kagurazaka for the very last entry ticket in Aunt Tome's hands."

As Yuya explained, Aunt Tome helpfully lifted her chubby right hand, holding a small slip of paper between her first three fingers—the admission ticket needed for tomorrow's deck exhibition.

"Oh~ I see now."

Judai nodded in understanding, then turned toward Sho with a teasing smile.

"Hey Sho, don't push yourself too hard, okay? Your opponent is from Ra Yellow after all."

After the tag team duel against the Disciplinary Squad, Sho started taking his studies much more seriously. Especially in recent days, with help from all their friends, he'd been making up for everything he had missed before.

His skills had improved, but trying to defeat a student from Ra Yellow was still a bit of a stretch.

"You're my big bro, and not only are you not cheering me on, but now you think I can't win?!"

Sho puffed up his cheeks in frustration, but then exhaled, putting on a goofy face and grinning.

"By the way, bro, did I forget to mention? That ticket isn't just the last one—this duel? I'm doing it to win it for you. So… are you sure you want me to lose?"

Judai: ?!

"I'm sorry, Sho! Please—you have to win this duel!"

As soon as Judai realized Sho was dueling for his sake, he bent over 90 degrees in a deep bow, wearing a desperate "I'm begging you!" expression.

The chance to see the deck of his idol—the King of Games, Yugi Mutou—was something he absolutely could not miss!

"Hmph, now that's more like it."

Seeing his big bro completely flustered for once, Sho was more than satisfied as he turned his attention back to the duel and continued facing off against Kagurazaka.

"I tribute my two 'Fiend Tokens' to Tribute Summon—Ancient Gear Golem!"

It was a recreation of the very scene from the first day of school! Seeing Kagurazaka's familiar stance, and hearing his speech pattern, tone, and catchphrases, Judai widened his eyes and looked toward Yuya with a face full of disbelief.

"This guy… don't tell me he's imitating Professor Chronos?!"

"Bingo. That student—'Kagurazaka'—the deck he's using, the things he's saying, even his gestures, he's mimicking Chronos to a T!"

Yuya had been curious about Kagurazaka too. He even went out of his way to look up the guy's duel records at the academy, only to find that Kagurazaka had far more losses than wins.

The opponents he lost to varied, but even in his victories, the ones he beat were only slightly stronger than someone like Sho.

"This guy's something else. Thanks to his incredible memory, he's studied, analyzed, and copied the styles of several well-known and powerful duelists from across the Duel community! He's even tried mimicking Ryo Marufuji and Manjoume from our academy."

If Yuya didn't personally know those duelists, he might've mistaken Kagurazaka for the real deal the first time he saw him—he was the undisputed No.1 in the world of dueling cosplayers!

"Go, Ancient Gear Golem! Mechanized Mega Fist!"

Under Kagurazaka's command, the Ancient Gear Golem threw a massive iron punch—large enough to match the size of a grown adult—at Sho's only monster on the field: "Jetroid," a humanoid mechanical warrior modeled after a red jet fighter.

"Jetroid's effect! When it's selected as the attack target of an opponent's monster, I can activate a Trap Card from my hand!"

"So, I activate the Trap Card 'Magic Cylinder'! I negate the Golem's attack and deal damage to you equal to its Attack Points!"

"Invalid move. Declared null!"

Just as Sho was about to use "Magic Cylinder" to reflect the Golem's attack and win the duel through its effect, Yuya called out, interrupting the match.

"Ancient Gear Golem's back row lockdown effect during the Battle Phase doesn't just prevent your opponent from activating set Spells and Traps on the field—it even blocks effects that would allow Trap Cards to be activated from the hand!"

The Ancient Gear archetype's Battle Phase lockdown was truly terrifying.

Even if the opponent somehow managed to activate a Trap Card during the Battle Phase, someone like Yuya holding "Red Reboot" still wouldn't be able to respond to it with his Trap activation!

And so, the outcome of this duel was sealed: Ancient Gear Golem destroyed Jetroid in battle, inflicting 1200 points of piercing damage and wiping out Sho's remaining life points—which had already dropped into the triple digits.